Austrian chancellor: We destroyed an ISIS branch that aimed deadly attack on Taylor Swift concerts

2024-08-09 10:38:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Austrian chancellor: We destroyed an ISIS branch that aimed deadly attack on

A young Austrian man arrested on suspicion of plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna planned to carry out a suicide attack that would have caused "bloodshed" and pledged allegiance to Islamic State, the Austrian chancellor said. Karl Nehammer on Thursday.

The suspect was planning a deadly attack among some 20,000 fans of the singer Swift who were to gather outside Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, director of Austrian Security and Intelligence, said earlier.

Two other Austrian youths, aged 17 and 15, were arrested on Wednesday over the plot.

American network "ABC" cited law enforcement and intelligence sources as saying that Austrian authorities had received information about the danger at the Swift concert from American intelligence.

A State Department spokesman said Thursday that the United States had been in communication with Austrian authorities about a suspected plot to attack the American singer's concert, but did not confirm reports that U.S. intelligence authorities had given them information about an attack. planned.

"We have been in contact with the Austrian government on this matter. It is practical that we share information with our allies and partners on terrorist activities just as they share information with us ," said spokesman Matthew Miller during a press conference.

Austrian authorities on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old Austrian citizen originally from North Macedonia on suspicion of involvement in a failed plot to attack singer Taylor Swift's now-cancelled concerts scheduled to be held in Vienna.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia told "Voice of America" ??on Thursday that the Austrian authorities have requested from this ministry "the control of a person of North Macedonian origin, who is suspected of involvement in the planning of an attack terrorist in Vienna".

According to the answer given to "Voice of America", Skopje "is acting on the basis of the request submitted" by the Austrian authorities, but did not give more details about which part of the country the suspect's parents are from.

According to the media in North Macedonia, the suspect's name is Beran Aliji, born in Austria, but originally from Gostivar.

Meanwhile, Austrian authorities said they found material from the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda in the home of the second suspect for involvement in the plot.

"The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can say that a tragedy was prevented", Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Thursday in Vienna.

Security authorities said the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian citizen of Turkish and Croatian descent, was arrested by special police forces near the stadium where concerts were planned to be held this week. The names of the suspects were not released in accordance with Austrian privacy rules.

Austrian security officials claimed the two youths wanted to carry out an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or improvised explosive devices.

They told reporters at a press conference in Vienna that the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian originally from North Macedonia, made a full confession about his plans for the attack. They said he was "clearly radicalized in the spirit of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels".

"He stated that he wanted to carry out the attack using explosives or cold weapons, these weapons have been found. He was considering both options. His goal was to kill himself and a large crowd at the concert ," said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, director of Austrian Security and Intelligence.

Authorities released a blacked-out photo of the 19-year-old, who had quit his job on July 25, saying he "still had big plans."

The second suspect was employed a few days ago in a company that provides services in concert venues. Investigators said they found extensive material related to the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda in his home.

The cancellation of the concerts saddened Taylor Swift fans around the world, many of whom had spent thousands of euros on travel and accommodation in the expensive Austrian capital to attend the concerts.

"I'll speak for myself and my friends. We're shocked. The cancellation of the concert upsets us, but we're also grateful that the perpetrators of these plans were caught before they could act," said Emma Soto, a follower of Taylor Swift who traveled from the United States to Austria.

According to Franz Ruf, director of public security at Austria's interior ministry, chemical substances and technical equipment were found in the home of the 19-year-old suspect.

In an interview Thursday with public broadcaster ORF's Oe1 program, Mr. Ruf said investigators are evaluating evidence seized from the suspect's home. Just a few weeks ago, the 19-year-old had posted on an online account a pledge of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group, he added.

Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler wrote on the social platform "X" that "for many people, a dream has been destroyed today. In three evenings in Vienna, tens of thousands of fans of the singer Swift should have celebrated together".

"I am very sorry that they denied this to them. Swift fans stand together, hate and terror can't tear her down," Mr. Kogler wrote late Wednesday.

The neighbors of the arrested 19-year-old said on Thursday that his family lived very closed.

"We didn't see them in their backyard or their kids outside," said one neighbor, standing on her doorstep.

"They were always friendly and said hello, but the idea of ??going to them to drink coffee together or come to see us, didn't happen," she said.

According to the neighbor, the suspect's family moved to Ternitz, an hour's drive south of the Austrian capital and near the Hungarian border, about five years ago.